Softball Hosts Huskies for Senior Day Weekend

Softball vs. Northern Illinois
Date	Friday-Saturday, April 22-23
Location	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Varsity Field
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Live Audio	N/A
Twitter	@EMUSoftball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University softball team closes out the home portion of its schedule this weekend, April 22-23, when it plays host to Northern Illinois University for senior day. The weekend set gets underway Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. and wraps up Saturday with a twin bill. The first leg of Saturday's doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m. with senior day celebrations set to take at the conclusion of game two.
   The Eagles (18-23, 8-6 MAC) have hopes of extending a four-game win streak this weekend following a sweep of Ball State at Varsity Field, April 15-16. Eastern Michigan won a pair of pitching duels in the first two games of the series behind shutout performances by Nicolle Miranda and Abbie Minsker. EMU secured the sweep of the Cardinals with a thrilling comeback win, taking game three, 15-11. Northern Illinois (28-13, 9-5) travels to Ypsilanti, sitting a game ahead of the Eagles in the Mid-American Conference West Division standings. The Huskies make the trip east, looking for their first series win since the beginning of April after dropping two of three games to MAC West Division leader, Western Michigan, over the week.
   Fans can follow both games via Twitter (@EMUSoftball) and live stats.

SIXTH INNING EXPLOSION: In the sixth inning of Saturday's series finale versus Ball State, the Eagle offense exploded for more runs than its put up in 35 games this season. The Green and White plated nine runs on six hits to shock the Cardinals, 15-11, after trailing 11-6 heading into the bottom of the sixth. With 15 runs in the game, the Eagles plated their highest total since April 17, 2015 when they topped Buffalo, 15-7.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois have squared off on the diamond 60 times, with the Huskies holding a 35-25 lead in the all-time series. The two squads first met during the 1985 campaign when EMU dropped a doubleheader via a pair of shutouts (1-0, 4-0).
   The Huskies have won seven of the last 10 meetings, including a sweep of last season's doubleheader. Eastern Michigan came away with a win in 2014, topping NIU, 4-3, in eight innings at Varsity Field. This weekend, the Eagles will look to win their first series over the Huskies since 2010. That year, the Green and White closed out the regular season with a pair of victories over Northern Illinois, taking game one, 7-6, in eight innings, and completing the twin bill sweep with a 7-4 win in game two.

WINNING THE SERIES: Taking two of three games from Akron, March 25-26, the Eagles won their first Mid-American Conference series since 2013. Additionally, the series win marked the first time the Eagles have defeated a MAC opponent on the road twice in the same season since 2012. Eastern Michigan notched another series win, shutting out Ball State twice before coming from behind to knock off the Cardinals, 15-11. EMU's sweep of Ball State gave the Green and White its second series win of the conference season, marking the first time the Eagles have won two MAC series since 2011.

LAYING IT DOWN FOR THE TEAM: The Eagles have shown the ability to sacrifice themselves in conference play this season. In fact, three Eagles rank second in the conference in sacrifice bunts with three apiece. Olivia Logan, Taylor Wagner, and Abby Davidson have all executed when called upon, making the Eagles the only team in the conference with more than two ranked inside the top-nine.

BRING OUT THE BROOMS: For the first time in program history, the Eagles swept a three-game series against a Mid-American Conference opponent, sweeping Ball State, April 15-16. Additionally, the three-game sweep marked the first time EMU has swept a conference opponent since April 9, 2011 when the Green and White took a twin bill from Toledo, 7-0 and 13-1.

TWO OF THE BEST: This weekend's series pits two of the most potent offenses in league play against one another. The Huskies come in ranked second in the league with a team batting average of .318, while the Eagles are just behind them, hitting at a .305 clip in MAC play.

DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME: With just nine games remaining in the conference season, the Eagles find themselves in the thick of things when it comes to Mid-American Conference Tournament seeding. Holding a MAC record of 8-6, the Green and White rank third in the MAC West Division and would be tied for the fifth seed in the tournament if the season ended today.
   Miami would hold the top seed, followed by Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. Akron currently holds the four seed, sitting half a game above Buffalo, Kent State, and EMU, all of whom are tied at 8-6. Meanwhile, Ohio and Central Michigan round out the seedings.

OFFENSE CONTINUES TO IMPROVE: Under the tutelage of head coach Melissa Gentile, the Eagles have seen their offensive numbers improve in each of her three season's at the helm. This season, the Eagles are hitting at a .281 clip, the best since 2011. Additionally, EMU has registered 10 or more hits on 13 occasions, also the most since 2011. That season, Eastern Michigan recorded double-digit hits 15 times.

REGAINING A HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Since the 2006 season, the Eagles have compiled a 68-66-2 record at Varsity Field. Eastern Michigan holds a 13-24 record at its home diamond under head coach Melissa Gentile, including a 5-6 mark this season. With a total of three home games remaining, EMU seeks its fifth winning record at home since 2006 and first since 2011.

HUNTING THE HUSKIES: Northern Illinois enters the weekend with a one-game lead on the Eagles in the Mid-American Conference West Division standings. Sporting an overall record of 28-13, the Huskies own a 9-5 conference record.
   Offensively, the Huskies boast the second-ranked offense in the Mid-American Conference in part due to a hot-hitting heart of the order. Leading the way for NIU is catcher Emily Naegele. Typically the clean-up batter for the Huskies, Naegele is hitting a conference-best .410 this season. With 48 hits on the season, Naegele has pounded out 27 extra-base hits, 16 of which have been homers. Kayti Grable and Kali Kossakowski round out the three-headed monster for Northern Illinois, hitting .394 and .391, respectively. Kossakowski has also proven to be a base stealing threat this year, successfully swiping 16-of-20 attempts.
   Northern Illinois has sent six different pitchers to the circle this season, compiling a staff earned run average of 3.11 in the process. Alex Frenz has garnered a team-high 22 starts this season, posting three shutouts and 11 complete games. Additionally, Frenz leads the Huskies in strikeouts with 93, compared to just 36 walks.

THANK YOU SENIORS!: Saturday's twin bill marks the last games played at Varsity Field for six seniors that have made significant contributions to the program over the course of their careers. During their tenure at EMU, the team has posted 66 overall wins and 25 Mid-American Conference victories.
   #3 - Myranda Barnes - A local product, Barnes has appeared in 113 games during her career. The Ypsilanti product carries a career batting average of .207 with 37 hits, including one double. This season, Barnes has set career-highs in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.
   #7 - Abby Davidson - Davidson has appeared in 175 games for the Eagles, starting in 157. The Westerville, Ohio native holds a career batting average of .243 with 110 hits, 16 doubles, three home runs, and 42 RBI. This season, Davidson made the transition from third baseman to EMU's starting center fielder. After a three-year stint at the hot corner, Davidson has transitioned into the outfield and currently holds a career-best 1.000 fielding percentage.
   #8 - Mady Hostetler - Hostetler has appeared in 94 games over the course of her career, notching 69 starts. She has 29 career hits and 15 RBI during her tenure with seven extra base hits. This season, she has recorded career-highs in nearly every statistical category including; batting average, at bats, hits, doubles, RBI, slugging percentage, and walks.
   #9 - Elaine Whitbeck - Whitbeck has appeared in 127 games for EMU, starting 54 of them. Known for her speed, Whitbeck leads this season's squad in stolen bases, successfully swiping eight of her nine attempts. Additionally, Whitbeck ranks second on the team with 19 runs scored, a career-high for the West Ottawa native.
   #19 - Abi Clark - Clark has appeared in 124 games for EMU, with 115 career starts during her tenure. Totaling 332 at bats, Clark has notched 106 career hits, including 18 doubles and seven home runs. She has driven in 40 and scored 35 runs since joining the Eagles. With a career batting average of .319, Clark ranks eighth in the EMU record books. Clark has recorded 21 multi-hit games in her career while adding eight multi-RBI efforts over the course of her career. This season, the Clinton product has tied her career-high in runs scored while compiling a .327 batting average, the second highest on the team.
   #22 - Aoife Duffy - Duffy has played in 111 games for the Green and White, garnering 68 starts. In 223 career at bats, Duffy holds a .229 career batting average with 51 hits, six doubles, and five home runs. The Powell, Ohio product has driven in 28 during her career and has crossed the plate 14 times. This season, Duffy has pieced together the best of her tenure. She is hitting a career-best .310 at the dish and has recorded a career-high 18 hits to go along with a personal-best 10 RBI. Duffy has also set career-highs in doubles, home runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and base runners caught stealing.

CONSISTENT CONTACT: Through 41 games, Abby Davidson has proven to be one of the toughest batters to strikeout in all of NCAA Division I. The Westerville, Ohio product has totaled 74 at bats without a single strikeout. Davidson is one of four players in the country that has yet to be called out on strikes this season, joining Brooke Morris (Nicholls St.), Chloe Oro (Delaware St), and Ambrelle Burton (Southern).

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST: Coming into the season, Aoife Duffy was believed to be the Eagles' third option at catcher but the Powell, Mich. has played her way into the starting lineup. Duffy sports a career-best .310 batting average this season, head-and-shoulders above her previous single season best .231. Additionally, the senior backstop is three RBI above her previous career-high and has already doubled her career two-bagger total with three this season in addition to belting a career-best two homers. Her best game of the season came, April 16, against Ball State. Duffy finished the contest 3-for-4 at the plate and registered a career-high four RBI's.

NO RUN PATROL: The Eagles held one of the conference's most potent offense's scoreless for 11 innings, April 8. Abbie Minsker's complete game shutout of Kent State was followed by four scoreless innings by Nicolle Miranda to open game two, leaving the Golden Flashes without a run for 11 innings. The 11-inning stretch was the longest the EMU pitching staff had gone without surrendering a run until Miranda and Minsker tossed back-to-back shutouts, April 15-16, against Ball State. The Eagles scoreless inning streak pushed 19.2 after Miranda held the Cardinals in check for the first 2.2 innings of the series finale.

KRIEGSHAUSER RECOGNIZED AS MAC WEST CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After playing a key role in the Eastern Michigan University softball team's four wins last week, junior Michelle Kriegshauser was named Mid-American Conference West Division Co-Player of the Week. The league office's announcement, April 18, marked the third time an Eagle has earned the award this season and second career accolade for Kriegshauser.
   Kriegshauser led the Eagles' offensive effort over the course of the week. Hitting .563 at the plate with an .812 slugging percentage, the New Lenox, Ill. product finished the week with a team-best nine hits, three of which were of the extra base variety. Additionally, the junior outfielder added four RBI's and scored four runs to pace the Green and White.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Myranda Barnes

Abi Clark

Abby Davidson

Aoife Duffy

Mady Hostetler

Michelle Kriegshauser

Olivia Logan

Abbie Minsker

Nicolle Miranda

Taylor Wagner

Elaine Whitbeck

Eastern Michigan Athletics